Hello, everybody! It has been a busy week at work so I haven’t got the time to update this blog for 8 days. It’s difficult striking a perfect work/life balance here in Japan because the working hours tend to be long and can sometimes encroach on weekends so by the time you get home, you’re left with just enough time to clean yourself up and read your email. All that plus the expenses of rearing a child makes things difficult for the average person working here in Japan – No wonder people here prefer to be single all their adult life!

Having mentioned all that, I’m still grateful that I have a wonderful family who supports me in the profession that I chose and for encouraging me to maintain this blog. With the little time I have left this week, I am going to post a short but interesting tear down of a popular Nikkor that has become a favorite due to its small dimensions and the amazing cost-to-performance ratio of this little gem – the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S.

Introduction:

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S has a big following because it’s Nikon’s smallest 50mm lens. It was preceeded by the short-lived Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S (long-nose version) and this has a different optical formula if I remember it correctly. The newer lens formula is compact so its lens barrel was also made smaller. Many people consider the older lens to be better optically but not by much. If you ask me, having a smaller lens out-weigh any advantages that the older lens may have in terms of image quality because smaller lenses enable me to use them on scenarios where a bigger lens will just be bothersome.

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Ai-S was introduced in 1980 and stayed in production up to 2005. A lens that was produced for 25 years can be considered a success if you ask me. There’s a big surplus of this lens and I remember that you can still buy these new up until some 12 years ago as “new old-stock” lenses so excellent versions of the last variant can still be found in the used market. Many people loved this lens and it’s part of many people’s kit. I personally see myself keeping this lens forever just because of its practicality. More

We had a lengthy commentary on screws and drivers on the previous post and the next important subject to consider is lubrication. If you have read any of Nikon’s repair manuals you will see that Nikon uses different types of lubricants on different parts of their lenses and cameras. While this is the best practice in camera manufacturing, it is not practical for DIY lens restoration for a lot of reasons, some of which are:

It is expensive to keep an inventory of various lubricants.

It is not cost effective if you are just fixing your own stuff.

You may accidentally mix lubricants.

With the above considerations outlined, we will now start discussing about the most important lubricant in manual focus lenses and how to properly replace them.

Prep:

Before applying any fresh grease to your helicoids you will definitely need to clean the helicoids first and remove the old, dirty or dried grease.

Just take a look, looks like the grease has not been replaced since 1959! More

In the previous blog post we have outlined most of the essential tools for the repair and maintenance of classic Nikkors. Now, we will be discussing the best application for these tools so that you will less likely to destroy your lens by stripping a screw head or misaligning your helicoids.

Just like everything else in life you may mess up in your first few projects and that is OK. In my case, I messed up three projects because there is just not a lot of online materials for this and any useful information out there are scattered or can be irrelevant at times. The lack of proper tools when I first started was also a big contributor to my failed projects since I thought that it would be just as simple as fixing your average kitchen appliance. The good thing is, I have managed to fix the failed projects now.

This guide is not going to be organised in any order and I will be updating it from time to time as I find new ways and remember anything that I have done in a previous project or find something in another person’s practice. A good deal has been discussed on the previous post so please refer to that as well and I will try not to repeat anything that can be found there. More

In this blog post I will outline to you all the essential tools that you need for restoring manual focus lenses so that you do not waste your time and most importantly money or gear.

Most of the tools that you will need can be bought in regular hardware stores however some of them are quite specialised and can only be bought in specialty stores or online. I live in Tokyo so camera repair equipment is readily available to me from shops, big chain stores and online shopping. These tools are an investment so buy the best that you can afford but do not go overboard and buy something that is insanely expensive but of very limited use.

Luckily, camera repair has a lot in common with watch repair since both deal with precision tools and small hand-held equipment. Going to the watch repair department of your DIY shop can also be fruitful. I grew up in a watchmaking family so the tools and skills are all familiar to me.

I strongly recommend that you follow my equipment advise as close as you possibly can because tools like screw drivers seem to be common across the board but in reality they come in different types. Using the wrong type will result in a stripped screw head.

Finally, I am not going to be responsible for any broken equipment, tools, gear or your health, so please use your common sense and follow safety procedures. Now, on with the tools.

Screwdrivers and Screws:

First, you will need a set of precision screwdrivers. These things are great for smaller screws. Be very sure that you only purchase screwdrivers that are JIS (Japanese International Standard). Any hobby shop with a mini 4X4 or radio control section should have these and chances are they will be JIS. Japanese brands are also more likely to be JIS (Like Tamiya). Never ever buy cheap precision screwdrivers, you will use these for a long time and the damage caused by using the wrong screw driver can be very expensive. If JIS is not available, buy crosspoint drivers. The Philips screwdrivers look similar but work differently so never use the Philips screw drivers on your Japanese brand lenses. The best brand is VESSEL. If you want to, you can also buy individual drivers. More